Filenews 2 February 2023
The implementation since yesterday of the legislation on the mandatory use of helmets by cyclists is divisive. The Traffic Police points out the dangers run by cyclists circulating between vehicles, stressing that it will take a gentle stance, the rapporteur of the bill, MP Chryssis Pantelidis, emphasizes that the helmet protects, while a group of citizens who deal with road safety, is vehemently against it, calling the law catastrophic and retrograde.
Asked by "F" to comment on the new legislation, the assistant head of the Traffic Police at the Police Headquarters, Haris Evripidou, initially pointed out the specifications for helmets for adults and children. There is, he said, "the fine of €50, but we will not exhaust our rigour but we will be tolerant. But where we see that cyclists move to places where their lives are at risk, that is, on boulevards and busy streets where they mix with vehicles, then they will be reported." Mr. Evripidou added that the Police will not go to the parks and cut out of court to cyclists. He pointed out that last year we had four dead cyclists two of whom did not wear their helmet and the cause of death was traumatic brain injury. "These data show us that not using it has this effect, whether the cyclist is responsible or not. Therefore, our recommendation is that the use of a helmet should be applied to protect the cyclist". He wondered why the organized cyclists who circulate in groups, when there was no legislation until now, nevertheless brought their helmets? They do it, he added, because they know it protects them.
Asked whether the Parliament could make another arrangement, Mr. Evripidou said that perhaps if there were bike lanes and vehicles were not involved with bicycles, then the use of helmets could be optional. But now there will always be an intersection, a road, where the cyclist will come into contact with the vehicles. At the same time, the assistant head of the Traffic Police clarified that cyclists can carry their personal bag, but not shopping bags that are attached to the handlebars.
Strongly opposed to the mandatory use of helmets by cyclists, a citizens' group is active professionally, academically and voluntarily in promoting bicycle / micromobility, sustainable urban mobility, road safety and consequently defending the rights of users of alternative modes of transport. They are: Marina Kyriakou urban planner - Urban planner, Frosso Christofides environmental engineer - Cycling Advocat, Dr. Ilaria Geddes special scientist - Urbanist, Jason Senekki, research associate - PhD candidate Ep. Asf. & Health and Stephanie Demetriou environmental engineer - sustainable cities.
According to the group, yesterday, Cyprus became the only country in the European Union and the fourth in the world to implement legislation on the forced use of helmets for cyclists. Since yesterday, they add, Cyprus has taken a huge step back in terms of sustainable urban mobility. They describe the law as regressive and catastrophic, having long since been abolished in countries around the world – most recently Bosnia Herzegovina in 2017, and Malta in 2018 – after overestimating the protection that the helmet affords cyclists and underestimating the multiple benefits of cycling as a way of travelling.
"Having thoroughly followed the proceedings, we express our disappointment at the absence of meaningful consultation with experts and the provocative amendment of legislation based on personal assessments, with a complete absence of data such as the number of bicycles on the roads before and after, where and under what circumstances collisions occur which the helmet may prevent, and so on. design of intersections, programming of traffic lights, high speed limits and bad handling. The forced helmet for cyclists is not a solution to any of the above."
"We are positioning ourselves," the group of scientists continues, "against the forced use of helmets by law and not the use of helmets by choice. It has been proven that such legislation criminalises the use of bicycles, causes a reduction in the number of cyclists and transfers responsibility for the lack of safe infrastructure to users. The effects will be cascading and will bring a significant blow to cycling as a way of transportation in Cyprus. As active citizens we will monitor the implementation of the legislation and at the same time we will try to bring the debate back to the competent Parliamentary Committee as soon as possible with the aim of repealing the law. The bottom line is that by designing a road network where people instead of cars are at the centre, our cities become better, safer and healthier for everyone."
"It's not a disincentive," says Chryssis Pantelidis
The rapporteur of the bill in Parliament, DIKO MP Chryssis Pantelidis, said that the helmet protects. "So, given this indisputable reality and given the fact that our cities do not yet have sufficient infrastructure for the safest possible use of the bicycle, we considered it necessary to make the use of a cycling helmet mandatory, by amending the relevant Law. I recall that this same Law of 2018, from the beginning, made the use of a lamp, front and rear, mandatory during the night hours, as well as the use of bells, brakes, reflectors and suitable tires. This obligation of citizens to use a cycling helmet when using the bicycle exhausts, we would say, the measures that a cyclist must take for his safety and highlights even more the obligation of the State to take the additional measures that it must take for the protection and safety of those who use the bicycle and to further encourage the use of the bicycle. And these measures concern infrastructure, i.e. proper cycle paths, proper signage of roads and intersections, proper lighting everywhere, but also the cultivation of the necessary culture among drivers of motor vehicles, in relation to how they should drive and where they are not allowed to park," he said.
"I do not share the assessment that the use of a cycling helmet is a disincentive to the use of the bicycle. Similar misjudgments existed, moreover, in the past, when the use of other protective measures, such as seat belts in cars or the use of a helmet on motorcycles, was made mandatory. The cost of buying a cycling helmet, with the appropriate specifications, is not prohibitive. I repeat, the helmet protects", concludes Mr. Pantelidis.
POINT OF VIEW
Improvement of traffic problem
According to the team of scientists, cycling as a way of transportation in cities, offers us multiple benefits, directly and indirectly. More than 50% of journeys in European cities involve journeys of less than 5 km and a large number of them can be carried out by alternative means of transport (bicycle, e-bike, walking, e-scooter or a combination of means). This will help reduce the use of the car and bring an immediate improvement in the traffic problem, while contributing to the fight against poor air quality and noise pollution. Also, the economic and social benefits to public health of increasing physical activity, through the choice of more active modes of transport, have been scientifically proven in hundreds of studies, as well as the benefits to employers, with employees being more productive and missing fewer days due to illness. Economic benefits for consumers include reducing costs for fuel, maintenance, repair and car insurance.
